PENSACOLA, Fla. –  Moter Deng notched his first double-double of the season, and Darryl Tucker added 27 points and 9 rebounds as No. 19 UWF (8-0, 1-0 GSC) downed No. 16 Valdosta State (6-1, 0-1 GSC) 97-88 at the UWF Field House Saturday afternoon. Rashaan Benson chipped in 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as the Argos got the victory over the reigning regular season conference champs.

"It's a great win against a very good team, a top-20 team, a team that won the league last year," said head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "For our guys to give that kind of effort and help us get off to a 1-0 start in the conference is a big deal for us."

The Argos built a lead as large as 11 in the first and went to the break with a 48-43. Tucker registered 12 first half points, and Shondell Jackson added nine. Deng posted eight points and grabbed six boards. UWF shot of 18 of 35 from the field in the first (51.4%) vs. 15 of 31 (48.4%) for Valdosta. The Argos shot 4 of 11 from three in the first while Valdosta knocked down 7 of 13 3-pointers.

The Argos ran the lead to 82-70 in the second before the Blazers offense came roaring back to make it 88-86 with 2:25 to go. With 1:08 to go, the Argos got a tremendous lob feed from Deng to Tucker for a layup that grew the lead to 90-86. From there, UWF added a 7-2 run to seal the win.

"It's a credit to our players to not panic, play with poise when they cut it two, come down, have a good possession and score it and never look back," said Burkhamer. "We really did a good job of closing out defensive possessions after that. We got misses with rebounds and then made free throws. That's what good teams do, and we finished the game really well."

Deng posted a personal season-best 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He made 10 of 11 free throws in the game and has now netted 28 of 30 this season.

"Moter was terrific. He played very well, scored the ball, made big shots, made a huge pass late in the game and I thought really fought hard for rebounds," said Burkhamer. "I thought, overall, it was his best game."

Tucker's 27 points were a season-high not just personally but for any individual UWF scorer in a game this season.

The Argos outrebounded Valdosta State 38-33. UWF finished the contest 34 of 65 (52.3%) from the field, its most efficient shooting night so far this season. The win was the 13th in a row at home for UWF and the team's eighth in a row overall. If the team wins its next contest, it will match the longest win streak to start a season in school history.

The Argos will take on Spring Hill College in the UWF Field House Sunday, Dec. 10 in non-conference action. Tip is slated for 4:00 p.m.

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